Guinness Beef Stew with Cheddar Herb Dumplings

Did you have a magnificent St. Patrick’s Day yesterday? Celebrate with a lot of Irish Stout and Corned Beef? I hope so. I, for one, ate leftovers of this Guinness Beef Stew with Cheddar Herb Dumplings in between doing work for the blog, and then enjoyed a few tall glasses of Guinness at a local Irish pub with my mom. The whole day, though, I was stuck thinking, “Man, I wish I had the opportunity to put up the stew recipe today.”

But I couldn’t post the recipe, because I had forgotten to email myself the pictures (woops). You don’t mind that I’m posting it a day later, do you? After all, it gives you an excuse to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for another few days. Yes, we’ll go with that. I totally delayed the posting on purpose so that you could continue on with your celebration. Happy Continuous St. Patrick’s Day, and you’re welcome!

All joking aside, you don’t need a special holiday to enjoy this stew. It is hearty, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. All you need is a little chill in the air and some room in your stomach, and you’re good to go. You’ll love it. I promise.

Remove the bacon and set aside, but leave the bacon fat in the pot. Season the beef with salt and pepper and fry in the bacon fat until browned on all sides. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside.

In the same pot, fry the onion, celery, and carrots until soft and fragrant, adding a little oil if necessary.

Add garlic and fry for another 30 seconds. Add in the tomato paste and stir around.

Pour in the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce. Allow to come to a simmer and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the pot.

Add the beef back to the pot and pour in the beef stock. Add the bay leaf and thyme.

Reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 1½ hours. Add the carrot, parsnips, and turnips. Simmer for another ½ hour, or until vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf and thyme branches. If the stew is too thick at this point, add in a bit more beef stock and stir.

Add mushrooms and cook for 10 mins uncovered.

Stir together the self-rising flour and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Cut in the shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the cheddar cheese. Add the milk and stir until dry ingredients are moistened.

Make small balls with the dough and add them to the stew. Remember, they will grow a lot as they steam. Cover and cook over medium-low 25 mins, or until dumplings are firm.

You can add the bacon in at any point if you like, for extra flavor, but you don’t have to. I believe I just used it for the grease and ate the bacon separately (can’t resist, haha). I hope you have a very happy holiday as well!

I made a double batch yesterday!! Amazing!! Definitely a challenge for me, as I have never dealt with dumplings, parsnips, or turnips before!
So much fun and so delicious!!
We made mash potatoes to go along with, a 3:1 ratio regular potatoes to sweet potatoes! Amazing!

I would just like to say that this is the MOST DELICIOUS stew I have ever made, and for years I’ve tried many variations. Yes, it takes time, but it isn’t hard, and is totally worth it! The broth has such a richness, and the dumplings make it. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!